Chapter 64 Criminals And Serial Killers

Those who watched the teaser trailer of the first-years who'll be participating next month were shocked to see that the United Superheroes Academy would do such a thing. Usually, it is advisable to just hide all the candidates' superpowers until everyone is in the actual arena of the inter-high themselves. Every school in Tokyo decided to take notes of every first-year shown in the broadcast and even made sure to watch all the camera footage.

Even the third-years of a lot of high schools devoted their time in having meetings after school— studying every tactic, assuming the full extent of the superpowers they saw, and breaking down the tactics that ensued throughout the hero training session. They were especially keen on inquiring about Satoshi who was the biggest threat to the inter-high.

As for the principal of the United Superheroes Academy, Sai Tama, he couldn't stop laughing at the desperation of a lot of schools. Even though he did that on purpose, the other schools couldn't make it any more obvious that they were desperate to break the streak of the USA, which had been undefeated for quite some time now. Even with all those information leaked, Sai Tama was still relaxed, fully confident that the first-years won't bring them down this year. There was not a shred of doubt in his mind that the first-years would lose on this year's inter-high.

.....

A few days later,

At last, the most awaited moment of the first years has finally arrived— the day when the candidates of the inter-high tournament would be announced. It was even an understatement to say that every first-year was very excited about it. Even Kurogami, who never showed any interest in anything, was really looking forward to who'll be the chosen ones to represent the school. Of course, he never expected to be chosen since he didn't join the hero training in the first place. He was just curious as to which students caught the principal's interest.

Then there's Midori, who was excited about the upcoming inter-high but then he missed the hero training after being admitted to the hospital. He did get an offer from the Nurse but he wasn't sure whether he should turn her down or not. There's also the mystery of her brother being poisoned and until now, he still didn't know who did it. Even though he was excited about the results, he could tell that he won't be chosen since he was absent in the first place. And also, it's not like he'd be able to focus in the inter-high when he's got his own problems to deal with.

Needless to say, it was true that everyone was very much anticipating the important event. Sai Tama knew this and so he announced that everyone should arrive at school at least half an hour before the school bell starts. "There will be a total of seven candidates for the inter-high so pray that you'll be included there." He continued, leaving much to be discussed the day after.

...

Satoshi is an early riser (unlike a certain character with the same name who doesn't really wake up early, thereby almost ruining his career as a pet master) but today of all days, he arose exceptionally early. The sun hasn't yet appeared from the horizon when Satoshi got up and fixed his bed. He then checked all of his familiars to see if there was something wrong with them. He wanted to make it a habit to check on them a couple of times daily because they are still living entities in the first place. And as their owner, it is his responsibility to look after them and take care of them. After checking them and playing around with them for a time, he stuffed them right back inside his familiar Orb Oboros and headed downstairs to greet his parents.

Just like usual, they were already up. It was his mom who was cooking breakfast this time and his dad peacefully sat on the couch while reading the newspaper. When he glanced up and saw his son sleepily trudging down the stairs, he waved his hands and gestured towards the television which showed a video compilation of him during the hero training. He wondered why his dad was still watching that after watching it more than a hundred times. Even then, he couldn't complain though since his dad was genuinely proud of him and the results of his training.

"You should eat before you go," Ayumu mentioned as she was finished cooking. She then set up the table and signaled that everyone seat so they could start eating together.

"It seems like we're about to get busy again, love," Tatsuki mentioned in-between his bites, pointing at an article in the newspaper. "Those criminals are back at it again with that drug of theirs. The problem is, their connection is too spread out all over Tokyo that we can't single them out. Also, these criminals are getting more and more organized compared to before. It poses a huge threat to all the inhabitants of this city."

"What's that?" Ayumu asked, ignoring everything that her wife just said since she already knew about it. She could tell that it won't be long now before they'll be summoned by the SAO once again in order to deal with these criminals.

"Oh, it's a recent case of poisoning. At least four or five children were already targeted. One of them died, apparently" Tatsuki sighed. The reason why he didn't want to bring up such a sad topic was that it didn't sit well with him. "This is what I hate about serial killers. They don't really have a motive... and the inhuman way they kill someone leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Moreover... this killer is killing kids! Kids. What has gone wrong to this planet."

Meanwhile, Satoshi just ate while listening to his parents' conversation.

"By the way, Satoshi, have you decided? Are you going to join the Heimdall Agency?" Ayumu tried to change the topic.

Satoshi then nodded. "Yes, but only for a short while." He continued before downing his last bite of sausage so he could at last head to school.

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